My students need funding to cover the cost of transportation (international and domestic), food, and accomodations for our trip to the Amazon Rainforest in eastern Peru.
Marcel Proust once said, "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Many of my students have never left the city of Chicago, much less the country. They are eager to experience a part of the world that they have only read about in science class.
Our school opened in 2009 as Chicago’s first combined Selective Enrollment (magnet) and Career and Technical Education (CTE) high school, guaranteeing that at least 30% of our student population lives in the surrounding community and increasing the access of a college prep curriculum to students on the West Side of Chicago.
Today, our school is comprised of a diverse body of students, of which roughly 80% are considered low income. We provide a unique and academically rigorous environment for a wider range of students than those accepted at a traditional selective enrollment school. Our recent graduates have gone on to study at top-tier universities, state schools, and community colleges.
My Project
Students will learn about the vibrant life of flora, fauna, and people in the Amazon Rainforest by hiking through the forest, taking nature boat rides along the Amazon River, and spending time with the people--both indigenous and modern. Students will experience and become fascinated by the incredible life and sometimes strange adaptations found here in the most biological diverse ecosystem in the world. Visiting professors will also teach students about the research they conduct in the rainforest.
Students will also learn about the ecological impact of the rainforest on human life and vice versa, and how this fragile relationship has become increasingly troubled due to industrialization. We will spend a day volunteering with CONAPAC, an organization which works to improve living conditions amongst the Amazon River community. As a result, we will learn about the complexities of sustainable development for humans to better coexist with and preserve this natural wonder of the world.
My students will not only grow in awareness, compassion, and appreciation for the world, but the impact of this trip will stay with them as they rise up to be our nation's future leaders in business, engineering, medicine, policy, the arts, and more.
Their experience of the rainforest's cultures, plants and animals, and current challenges may direct future policy and technology to create a more sustainable coexistence between men and nature, helping to preserve our earth for generations to come.
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